Being The King Isn’t Always The Easiest Thing

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Toyota found out the hard way.

Toyota may the world's largest-selling automaker, but things aren’t going exactly as planed for the brand. According to Reuters, Toyota may have to halt production of its vehicles due to a steel shortage. The report indicated that an explosion earlier this month at an Aichi Steel plant, which is operated by Toyota, brought production to an end for certain steel components. That’s not what an automaker wants to hear after selling more vehicles than the competition. However, Toyota can continue production until next month.

A Toyota spokesperson revealed that the automaker had enough steel to continue operations until February 6 and that Toyota would make a decision about halting production after that date. According to Reuters, Toyota produces roughly 40 percent of its vehicles in Japan, which is a rate of approximately 14,000 cars a day. After building 4 million cars in Japan last year, Toyota was hoping to increase production to 4.13 million vehicles in 2016. Having to cease production of its vehicles would put a damper on the automaker’s predictions. Toyota plans to have the Aichi Steel up and running in March, but things won’t be smooth sailing until then.